Broken Dreams
by tsubasa chan 92
Summary: The Cullens find out who Bella really is, and Edward and Bella's relationship hits the rocks. Will they pick up the pieces or let their hearts stay broken?
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER  
**

I do not own any characters or universes of the following authors: Stephenie Meyer, Natsuki Takaya, and Warren Ellis.

I do not own or create certain passages and scenarios directly copied from said materials: The Twilight Saga: 1-4, Planetary: vol. 1-4, and Fruits Basket Vol 1-23.

**Chapter 1**

"Here it is." Bella huffed as she dropped the large, dusty, leather bound _Guide_ in front of him. He winced as dust puffed up in a cloud towards his face.

"Thanks," he coughed. "I think." Jacob coughed more as he opened a window in the tiny living room that was now littered with nautical maps, markers, and other books. "You're sure Atlantis is mentioned in here? Why doesn't he ever just say where something is instead of vague references of whatever?"

"Bad people aren't necessarily stupid people. Bad people do bad things with certain objects, or people. Therefore vague references are all anybody gets." She replied. Bella took off her jacket and sat on the floor and started examining the new markings he'd made on one of the maps. "What've you got?" Jacob muttered something about being a slave and sat next to me.

"I don't know yet if this is an actual location, or what, but I figured we might have to find the entrance a little deeper than we thought, assuming it's in Forks at all." He gestured at a red mark on the map. "I stuck to the cliff walls since we are in fact looking for a some sort of rock wall."

"And hopefully Atlantians don't have a particularly clever streak."

"Exactly." Jacob sighed and ran his hand over his crew cut hair. He looked tired and ten years older than he should. He leaned back against the couch and closed his eyes. They'd been searching for Atlantis for months. It was all that kept Bella going after Edward left her. And afterwards, when it turned out that he lied to her. It rocked her to the core that he thought that what he did was loving or kind or _right._

"How long is he gone for, this time?" Jacob began to play with Bella's hair.

She touched a map of just La Push beach. "A couple of days, I guess. It was just him and his brothers."

"Carlisle didn't go?" his voice was deceptively calm, but he'd stopped playing with her hair.

"No." she said, warily. There was a long pause before any of them said anything. Bella took the Guide and started to flip through it, waiting. She knew what he really wanted to talk about. She knew she did not. And she wasn't going to bring it up. She was going to pretend he fell asleep and continue to look through the maps and books by herself. She'd settled down to do just that when he said: "He asked you to marry him."

It wasn't a question. It wasn't a statement either. He was demanding that she refute what he just said. He almost dared her to.

But she wasn't going to. "Yep." She kept flipping through the Guide.

He stared at her now. she could feel it. "Bella."

"Hmm?" she stopped flipping suddenly and began to study the page she stopped at, almost ignoring Jacob.

"Really."

"Really what?" He was glowering now, his frustration like a wave of heat coming off him. Bella didn't look up. Their conversation didn't matter much anymore.

"Did you say yes?" he asked flatly.

"No." She replied irritably and kept reading.

"You told him no?" Disbelief colored his voice.

"No..." She broke off. Bella squinted at the page as she fumbled for a map. "It's not in La Push," She said, finally, in wonderment.

Jacob sighed and ran his hand across his face. "We stopped talking about this haven't we?"

"About what now?" Bella blinked up, dazed, at Jacob. He stared back at her with bewilderment and rage that would have made anyone more than wary of what came out of their mouth next. Anyone except Bella. "Oh. That." Was all she said before she went to a map of the Washington Coast line.

"Bella-"

Bella cut him off. "I didn't say yes. And I didn't say no. There is nothing to talk about."

"Just like that." he said.

"Just like that." she replied. "Can we go to Atlantis now?"

Jacob stood for a moment, thinking. "Why?"

"You know why."

"No, Bella. I don't. What will this prove?" The question rocked Bella. She hadn't thought of _why_ it was so important. She just needed to do, to search again. She felt good searching for the odd, the out of place things in the world. And what better place to search for than Atlantis. That's what she thought when she pulled out the Guide. It made her feel right. That's what she told herself. That's what held her together.

…

Standing in that forest, with her stomach clenched, wanting to be anywhere, wanting to do anything else than what was happening now was her first and only thought. Edward's eyes were so distant, so cold. He seemed exactly like the vampires her father despised and often killed. Cold, emotionless monsters who escaped the hand of time. Monsters who thought they were above the rules of nature and society.

"Bella, I don't want you to come with me." He'd said.

"You...don't...want me?" She gasped out after a pause. She remembered his eyes. Those unapologetic eyes. Hatred curled inside her.

"No." He replied to her. There was no feeling or warmth to anything. Not his voice or actions.

"Well, that changes things." She forced her voice to sound as even as his and worked to make sure the hatred, the disgust, and more importantly the dread come to her eyes. She felt trapped, watching him, hearing his excuses.

"You're not good for me, Bella." She opened her mouth, but Bella could only breathe out. There was no rebuttal Bella Swan could give, because Bella Swan was hyper-aware of her short comings. She couldn't refute those words. Bella Swan was weak. She needed him.

"If that's what you want." Bella said finally.

She watched him disappear in the trees. Ran after him even, but she stopped.

She could've caught up with him. It wouldn't have been hard. But she didn't. Why would she? Edward said he didn't love her anymore. Told her she wasn't right for him, that his attention had been drawn elsewhere. He'd even vowed to never come back into her life. Why run after that? Why run to a man who didn't love her anymore? Who wouldn't be there for her no matter how much she begged?

So she laid there in the leaves and dirt and grass. She waited. It turned dark a while later, and she knew Charlie would worry. He would be pacing the kitchen floor, glancing at the clock, his brow knitted. Soon, he would call her phone only to realize it's on the counter. He would stop pacing and waiting after that. He would make calls to the station, to the Reservation.

Sure enough, she heard Sam in wolf form come from behind her and began to sniff at her. There was a soft sigh in the air as he shifted.

"Bella?"

"He's gone." She answered.

"Bella." He sighed and picked her up. He carried her through the forest towards the lights and worried voices of a search party. She was carried in the house by Charlie. There were still more voices. Voices Bella didn't care enough about to listen to. At that moment she didn't care about anything. She felt numb. She saw no reason to be awake, so she went to sleep.

The next morning, Bella woke up. Someone—probably Charlie—had draped a heavy quilt over her. She could smell coffee in the kitchen. Bella kicked off the rest of the quilt and headed in the kitchen. Charlie sat at his usual spot at the small kitchen table, bent over a steaming mug of coffee. Billy sat across from him, with a mug of his own, both sitting in silence. Jacob stood a little ways away, leaning on the counter next to the carafe, his face emotionless, if only for the sole purpose of not showing her his pity as she walked in.

Charlie opened his mouth and then closed it, unsure what to say when he saw Bella. "Made some coffee." He said finally, jerking his head towards Jacob.

Bella nodded. "I see."

Jacob handed her a mug from somewhere behind him. It was warm and smelled of hazelnut and had the right amount of cream and sugar. They all sat like that for a while, with mugs of coffee in their hands, in a heavy silence. Bella set her mug down on the counter and it sounded like a gavel. Suddenly everyone was active. It was like the sound had woken them all up a little more. Jacob moved to sit at the table, leaving Bella the only one standing. She felt nervous as though she were on trial.

"Bells," Charlie began tiredly, "we're sending you back to Arizona. I would've sent you to Jackson with Renee, but we talked and we both know how you like to deal with your grief. Alone. Renee said she had no problem with you staying at the house."

"Who died?" Bella said dryly and reached for the carafe, wishing it was some type of brandy.

"I'm serious Bells. You don't deal well with heart break. We all know that. When your father left-"

"I am not a child." She said it simply, but they all heard the undertones of anger in her voice.

"No one here is saying you are, Bella," Billy interjected, "but we've been charged to care for you. This is the most unintrusive solution we came up with, while still being able to ensure your safety."

"So I've graduated from a microscope to binocular watch? Lovely." Bella snorted.

"Izzy, please." Jacob gazed at her pleadingly. Bella met his gaze, unmoved.

"Why not New York?"

"You know why." Charlie replied. He shifted in his seat uncomfortably.

"I thought I wasn't a child."

Charlie sighed and drew his hand across his face. "Bella-"

"Charlie."

"Charlie," Jacob said, "let her go. I'll go with her. It'll be fine."

Charlie shook his head. "No."

"It's a good idea, Charlie." Billy murmured, "Let the kids go. It'll be easy to explain."

"To who? There's no established family connections. It's the middle of the school year, Billy. No. It's either Jacksonville or Phoenix." Charlie held Bella's hardening gaze. "Pick one."

"Then I'll stay." Bella downed the last of her coffee and slammed the mug down like it really was a glass of whiskey. _Close enough,_ she thought as she stalked away from the men, ignoring Charlie's angry red face. She charged up the stairs and into her room. By the time she'd slammed the door, there was no anger in her. The numbness had entered her body again. She sat down by the desk and simply stared out the window, waiting for something she couldn't name. Maybe she could name it. Maybe it was a feeling. Maybe she was waiting for the crash of emotions to wake her up. Maybe she was waiting for that horrible epiphany to dawn on her that he really was never coming back.

It was silent in the Rabbit. Jacob kept clenching and unclenching his hands on the wheel. Bella stared out of the window and watched raindrops spill down the glass. Suddenly Jacob pulled over and shut off the car. They sat there for a while, Bella still watching raindrops and Jacob glaring out of the windshield. The road seemed to be deserted but it was hard to tell anything the rain was so heavy. The drumming rain made Bella drowsy and chilled to the bone. She didn't say anything though. Her standing wasn't necessarily good with Jake right now, though she longed to just lean on him and feel warmth that you couldn't get anywhere else.

"Come here." He said resignedly. Jacob let go of the steering wheel and looked at her expectantly.

But Bella shook her head. "I'm fine."

"You're cold."

"I'm wearing a jacket. I'm fine."

"It's soaked. That doesn't seem to help in the warming department." Bella finally tore her gaze from the window and looked back at Jacob.

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"Come here." he said again, gently. This time, Bella leaned in and rested her head between his chest and chin, hugging his torso, and they sat like that together, endlessly staring out of the windshield at the storm raging on.

It reminded her of when she was a little girl, when her father would make her spend time with her aunt Renee and Uncle Charlie, when Renee still lived in Soho. She remembered how she would spend whole weeks in Billy Black's small home in La Push. How she wouldn't go outside when it rained, how Jacob would keep her company on the days when it rained so hard you'd half expect the whole world to flood and Bella's amazement the next day when there were only big puddles of muddy water haphazardly placed on the ground.

Washington and New York were so much different and yet so much the same in that they had a heart beat, yet even that was so different. New York City, there were always sounds of people. Honking car horns, or the deep base of a club or music from a car radio played way too loud. Sounds of people talking, walking, dancing. It never overwhelmed her. It all seemed rhythmic. It all beat. In Forks, rain made up the heart beat. It was just as consistent and just as living. It was one of the very few things she loved about Forks.

She'd told Jacob that once, about the heartbeats, and he laughed. He loved that, he'd said. From then on, whenever it rained so hard and heavy that not even Jacob wanted to risk playing outside, they sat and listened to the heartbeat of La Push.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

It was still raining by the time she got in the house, though not as hard as when she was in the Rabbit with Jacob. Charlie was waiting for her and so was, to her surprise, Alice. They sat on the couch watching some game Bella didn't necessarily care about. Alice looked up at her first and beamed a bright happy smile at her and sprang from her seat, causing Charlie to look up in surprise.

"Bella!" Alice exclaimed.

"Alice!" Bella exclaimed back. "What are you doing here?"

"Keeping me company til you came back." Charlie said from the couch, smiling.

"No, lying in wait to _kidnap_ you for a shopping session."

"Shouldn't the Kidnapee not know that they're being kidnapped until the Kidnaper is in progress of such an act?"

Alice tilted her head to the side. "But I am in progress of kidnapping you."

"And I'm not paying ransom." Charlie joked.

"Well then. I suppose I should run along into the back of the van like a good little kidnapped girl, shouldn't I?" Bella smirked.

"Yes," Alice said triumphantly, "yes you should."

Four hours later, Bella twirled mechanically around in front of Alice's bedroom mirror in a canary yellow vintage dress. Alice sometimes went on decade stints. Last week it was the 20s. Bella decided she hated the 20s purely on the fashion Alice had her try on in countless tiny vintage boutiques. But the 40s she didn't mind. The fabric and cuts usually stayed simple and still classy. Alice clapped as Bella finished her twirl, smiling brightly.

"Oh!" Alice squeaked, "It's gorgeous! It's too bad we couldn't find it in blue, but I think yellow works just as well."

"Does that mean I can take this off?" Bella said with barely contained boredom. Alice frowned.

"If you have to." Alice plopped down on the bed, pouting, as Bella headed towards the bathroom. Bella carefully peeled off the dress that, if she were truly honest, she really liked. She actually hated wearing blue all the time. It made her skin look paler than she was prepared to admit. Yellow actually made her hair and eyes look brown. She really wanted to take it home, but she knew its true destination: In a garment bag with the rest of the clothes Alice saved for when she turned into a vampire.

Bella swallowed past a lump in her throat as she unbuckled the pumps securely fastened to her feet by Alice. Becoming a vampire would be the biggest, most reckless thing she'd ever done. And she'd done some ridiculously reckless things. Vampirism, as far as she and anyone else knew, was permanent. It wasn't like a tattoo, where you could remove it at a great cost. It was irreversible. Doing that, to be able to stay with Edward because of that, was a very big thing she didn't want to think about. She wasn't sure she wanted it to happen to her.

Bella wiped the make-up off of her face and brushed the curls out of her hair and performed her ritual. The ritual of imagining her skin as pale as snow, sparkling ridiculously like diamonds, a phenomena she couldn't make sense of, her eyes blood red. Her father's eyes filled with disgust and anger when they looked at her. Her stomach clenched up when she was done. She felt as though she could throw up everything in her stomach.

Bella took several, quiet, deep breaths silently thanking the heavens that Jasper wasn't there to tip anyone off that there was something wrong. She emerged from the bathroom with the dress, not surprised to see Alice's pouty mood gone and instead a small blur around the room as she straightened the room.

"You know I'd really wish you'd reconsider the dress." Alice said coming towards Bella with a fresh garment bag and hanger as though she already knew Bella would give it to her despite the offer. But Bella really liked the dress. She was tired of rejecting things she wanted. What was wrong with having something she really liked, even if it was slightly out of character?

"Wait,"Bella said finally, stopping Alice from walking away with the dress. "Maybe I will take it home."

Alice's eyebrows raised. "Really?"

"Really." Bella held her hand out, expecting Alice to hand her the dress. When Alice hesitated Bella said: "Oh, come on Alice. I don't have anything like this and it _is_ really pretty. I really like it."

A small, hesitant smile was still on Alice's lips but she handed Bella the dress, simply saying: "Alright." The smile disappeared as Bella took the dress and suddenly she was all business. "But don't get it wrinkled! You can't just iron those out. Keep it in the bag." Alice then went through a fifteen minute lecture on what shoes, jewelery, and occasions the dress should be used. Bella patiently waited for her to finish before making the excuse that she had to feed Charlie. Alice walked her to the car, happily rambling about whatever.

It wasn't until Alice was far from sight on the driveway of the house that Bella smiled a small triumphant smile at the garment bag hanging in the window. She had no place or occasion to where it, but it just made her smile. It was a piece of her that she couldn't show anymore.

It was very late when she pulled into Charlie's driveway. Too late for her to make dinner at all. Charlie seemed to have taken care of that, judging by the smell of pizza and cardboard wafting through the entry way. He was in his usual spot on the couch resting an empty paper plate on his lap.

"Saved you a slice." He said by way of greeting. There were times when living with Charlie was always easy. There were hardly any surprises or ooey gooey drama. He was always good with being blunt and saying what needed to be said. While to many people it didn't seem very affectionate, Bella knew he looked out for her constantly. It was a trait that endeared him to her. It was nice to know that in her world where there were hoops to jump through and masks of deception, there was someone who ignored the art of a smoke screen and just said what needed to be.

Sure enough, there were three slices of pizza left in its box, on the counter in the kitchen. He'd even poured her a glass of coke for her and left it in the fridge. She couldn't find the liter bottle in sight. He'd saved the last of it for her. Smiling, she kicked the fridge door closed and got a plate for the food and kissed Charlie on the top of his head, much to his embarrassment.

"'Night." She called, heading upstairs.

"'Night." he called back. She began to down the coke as she headed to her room. She kicked the door closed, grateful for the quiet and the aloneness. She closed her eyes and sighed happily, truly happy, as she leaned against the door, deliberately oblivious to the lone figure leaning against her window sill. She knew he enjoyed surprising her and she didn't want to ruin it for him. She opened her eyes with the right amount of bewilderment on her face.

"Jacob?" She said, adding a little gasp to her voice for drama. Jacob rolled his eyes.

"Practicing for Monday?" he said dryly.

"Of course. What else would I be doing on a Saturday night when he's not around?"

Jacob looked uneasy, but there was a smile that Bella recognized. It was a smile he had when he decided to do something that was a bad idea deliberately.

"How about going to Atlantis?"

"Why?" Bella was shocked. Jacob had never made up his mind and then changed it so quickly. It usually took her months to try and convince him to change his mind on something. By the time it would take her to accomplish persuading him, she'd often times saved herself the trouble and did whatever she'd wanted to do with Jacob herself. Now she was worried. "Look, if you're worried about me marrying Edward-"

"This has nothing to do with you and your bloodsucking lover, trust me."

"Then why?" Jacob sighed and walked over to her bed and flopped down on it, the bed frame creaked, complaining loudly about the extra weight.

"Because, Bells. I'm losing you. I'm losing my best friend." Jacob looked worn down again, the reckless smile gone. He looked aged again. Bella's heart contracted.

"You're not losing me." She said softly. "I'm right here. I'm still me." She took his warm hand in between hers. They sat like that for a moment. Then Jacob said: "I'm so tired Bells."

"When was the last time you slept?"

"For a whole night?" Bella nodded. Jacob paused tiredly, trying to count. When the pause grew longer than a minute, Bella pushed him down on the bed.

"Sleep." She commanded.

"There's no room for you." Jacob protested tiredly, "And you smell like vampire. The whole _room _stinks of it. I can't—"

Bella cupped his face. "Sleep." Jacob didn't have anymore arguments, so he slept. It didn't take him long. Bella slowly got up and crossed the room silently. She headed downstairs, where Charlie was cleaning up the living room.

"We have a guest." She told him.

"Really?" Charlie said calmly. His eyes, however, went straight to the shot gun propped by the front door.

"Relax. It's Jacob. He's asleep upstairs in my bed."

Charlie looked at her in disbelief. "Jacob came all the way here to crash here on your bed."

"No, actually. He came over to convince me to sneak out and partake in hes teenage shenanigans. Seeing as I am the oldest and therefore the responsible one, I convinced him that a good night's sleep is more beneficial to his person."

"'The responsible one'?" Charlie cracked up an uncontrollable, boisterous laughter that filled the room. Bella leapt across the room, grabbed a couch pillow, and smacked him with it until he reduced his laughter to a low chuckle. Bella rolled her eyes as he continued to laugh, muttering "'responsible one'" in between laughing fits.

Finally, Charlie calmed down and said, "You all heading out to Atlantis in the morning, I'm guessing?" Bella stood and stared at him. "I'm old, not stupid, Bells."

"A quality someone, somewhere finds useful and probably attractive in an alternate universe out there."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

They stood at the edge of the cliff looking down at the dark water the sun hadn't lit yet. Pre-dawn light was rising just above the trees, but it hadn't reached the ground. The Rabbit was still rumbling behind them.

Jacob gave Bella an asking glance. He wasn't so worn out now. There was excitement and anxiousness dancing in his eyes.

"How long have you got til your next shift?" Bella asked him.

"Not til the afternoon." Neither of them moved really. Bella couldn't believe they were actually about to jump, that they were actually going to Atlantis. Charlie and Billy had been helping them get the supplies they needed over the course of a couple of weeks.

But neither of them thought that they would be here. Bella felt as though _someone_ ought to have objected to this idea. She could go to Atlantis, but not New York? She shook her head. They needed more supervision from more responsible people.

But she could've. Edward would have forbade her to go. Would make her promise that dreaded promise not to do anything reckless or dangerous. He would put Alice and Esmee in charge of her. He would have Emmett and Jasper routinely patrol her window. Because Edward was responsible. Responsible didn't equate to fun though.

So here she was, standing over the cliff edge she and Jacob drew out on a map, about to dive in, to rediscover the boundaries of long lost continent.

Bella took two deep breaths and jumped. The feeling she had was even better than the first time she'd cliff dived. This time the current didn't swirl angrily around her as she sliced through the surface of the water. She stayed under water for a while before placing a field of energy that allowed her to breathe around her mouth. Moments after she had, a warm body disrupted the water next to and she turned to see Jacob swim towards her. She placed the same energy field around his mouth and by unspoken agreement, swam deeper into the water towards what they thought would be Atlantis.

They drifted down towards two rocks, floating in the middle of the water about a mile out from the cliff face. Jacob ran his hand over one.

"Give me a light." he said. Bella formed a small ball of energy from her palm and let it burn until it was smaller than a golf ball. She held it up to where Jacob's hand was. Jacob peeled away his hand, and there big and bold, was an Atlantean phrase carved deep into it. They both already knew what it said. It was the only thing that wasn't vague in the Guide that they both read about a hundred times:

_Here lies the Gates of the Fallen Country_

_Great Atlantis _

_Known of Plato_

_Of many Nations._

_Those who enter must pay the price of blood _

_and test the Might of Lineage_

_And Mind._

_Only those Declared Worthy _

_May enter this Great Gate._

Without much hesitation, Jacob took a knife from his belt he wore over his wet suit and slit his palm. quickly closing his hand over the wound, he handed the knife to Bella, who did the same to her own palm. Jacob sheathed the knife and together they wiped their blood on the stone.

The words began to glow and the rock began to tremble and shift. They swam back from it, putting distance between them and the shifting rock. They were right to. The "gate" began to morphed into a giant serpent with glowing yellow eyes. The water was warmer, and the serpents giant mouth was open to show them at least ten rows of razor sharp teeth as long as Jacob.

But even if this seemed like a bad idea to them now, there was no turning back. They'd already presented their blood line, and the serpent charged towards them. Bella swam as fast as she could, narrowly avoiding the snap of the serpent's jaws. Jacob had swam directly above it, poised to strike it with the knife, for all the good it was worth. The knife never hit home. The serpent lengthened and flexed, wrapping it's tail around Jacob's waist. Bella quickly willed a force field just around his waist, to keep the monster from crushing him. The serpent wrapped its body around Bella as well, but she didn't have time to shield herself and she felt the grip of stone around her tightened-

But the pressure stopped just short of crushing her. It raised her and Jacob eye level to the serpent's head. It's eyes glowed angrily.

"WHO DARE ENTER ATLANTIS WITHOUT MY BIDDING? WHO DARE SUPPOSE THEIR BLOOD BE PRICE ENOUGH? WHO HAS THIS AUDACITY?" It's great voice rumbled through the deep. When neither of them answered, the serpent's grip tightened. Bella still was the only one unprotected. Her breath rattled as it was squeezed out of her.

Jacob hastily spoke up. "We did. I am a Son of Q'waeti' and she, the Daughter of Elijah Snow. We came to finish his discovery, to-"

"You come to desecrate and destroy! Your clans are those of the surface! Never will you reach our city! Never will you-"

"Enough!" another voice sounded. The serpent was surprised and even seemed fearful. The pressure faded immediately from Bella and Jacob.

"Great Prince," the serpent said as a humanoid figure came closer, "these surface dwellers were attempting to invade and possibly corrupt our great nation." The "Great Prince" swam in view of Bella and Jacob, his gaze quickly sweeping over them, as though he saw something completely ordinary and uninteresting for the thousandth time that day.

"They hardly seem like an effective invasion force, Tian. I hardly think they are capable of corrupting our _entire _nation, either. We are quite a stubborn people. Who are you?" the Prince demanded Bella and Jacob.

"He is Jacob." Bella rasped, "Son of the tribe of Quileute. I am Isabella Snow. Daughter of-"

"Elijah Snow, I presume?" the Prince interrupted her. Bella simply nodded. "You do realize your father does not have a reputation worth calling upon?"

Bella shook her head. "My father saved your lives."

The Prince's face looked stormy. "Your father is no more hero than a tumbling rock on a cliff face. This is _my _region you so arrogantly barged into. Your life is now in _my _hands now, girl. Do not presume to challenge me."

Despite the warning, Bella stuck her chin out arrogantly. "You know who we are. Now who are you?"

"Bella-" Jacob tried to interject, but Bella cut him off swiftly.

"How do we know you have any true authority to apprehend us? We didn't even attack you. What right-"

"_Right_?!" The Atlantean roared, "I have every _right_, you insolent girl. I am Nuadi, Son of The Great King Bres, Prince of Thierna Na Oge. And you are both trespassing. And _you_," Nuadi sneered at Bella, "you will pay for the crimes your father committed and stand trial in his name." Tian's body constricted tighter once again, and this time Bella did black out.

She woke up, chained to a wall. Jacob was chained similarly next to her, arms chained overhead at their wrists, while their feet were secured as well. They were running out of air, and there wasn't enough time to absorb enough oxygen from the water surrounding them for a second wind within the force fields around their mouths. Bella had been out too long. There was light from torches, probably spelled to burn underwater, across the wall from them, but no natural light from which to tell time from. Jacob began to stir now. Bella winced as he took a deep breath.

"What happened?" He groaned.

"We were squeezed unconscious by a giant underwater serpent made of stone for an indefinite amount of time and chained up in here." Bella said mildly. "I don't think Prince Whatshisname likes us." she added.

"Nuadi," Jacob corrected. "How much air do we have left?"

"Not enough."

"Great. I guess now is not a good time to ask what your father did that got us imprisoned?"

"Well, first of all, before we start pointing fingers at people, _you_ got imprisoned for trespassing. I got imprisoned for trespassing and, if I know my dad, _probably _a case of non-communicatedconfiscation of a highly revered sacred artifact."

"Your Father stole an artifact and now we both have to pay for it. You knew about this didn't you?"

"Confiscated. He confiscated the zodiacal orbs. Put together they could control the fabric of reality. Or something like that. It's a very long story we don't have time or enough air for me to tell it to you."

Jacob rolled his eyes. "Great. Limited air supply, highly restrained, and we have no idea how long we've been here."

"You're wasting air." Bella said as she tried to lift herself up just a little toward her right hand.

"What are you doing?" Jacob asked exasperated.

"Not wasting air." Bella reached her hand just behind her right ear, and retrieved a bobby pin. She began to bend the bobby pin with the help of a manacle and picked at the lock carefully.

"So you did know." Jacob said angrily. "This wasn't about discovery, this was about settling a score. You dragged me here to settle your old man's debt!"

"You say this all like it's a bad thing." Bella had already freed her right hand and went quickly to her left one.

"You lied to me!"

"This isn't the first time." she pointed out. "I was actually planning to go alone. But I needed help finding Atlantis in the first place. And I knew if I involved you, you wouldn't let me go alone. And if I _told _you why I really came, you wouldn't let me go at all. It would be like trying to get Edward to let me go cliff diving without his permission." Jacob growled at being compared to a vampire. "I wouldn't do that with five minutes of air left." Bella added. She finished freeing herself and swam over to Jacob and began to work on his restraints as well. Jacob was silent and wouldn't make eye contact with her. When she was done, he simply nodded to her as thanks.

"Now what?" he asked tersely.

"Now we bust the door open as quietly as possible." Bella said, swimming towards the door. Examining the door hinges, she heated the metal and the water until it unbearable. To Bella's satisfaction, the hinges were made from some soft alloy. It melted, not all the way, but enough to swing the door the opposite way. Just as she was about to, Jacob stopped her.

"Guards." he whispered.

Bella shook her head and kept her voice low. "We don't have time to worry about that." Jacob didn't listen. He put his head to the door and listened. After a minute he held up three fingers. Bella held back a sigh and nodded. She reached into his mind and said, _What do you want to do? We have _maybe _two and a half minutes._

_Psychic blast. _Jacob thought back. Bella nodded. She concentrated on the other side of the door. Sure enough she felt three other minds behind it. She held an image of a crushed skull until the minds blinked out of existence.

_Done. _She said wearily.

_Hang in there Tadpole. _He said.

_Don't call me that! _She snapped immediately. They quickly swam down the corridor, careful not to alert anyone of they're escape. Bella supposed they had about ten minutes or so before anyone realized they were gone. They got outside of the dungeon surprisingly with ease and found a submarine nearby that was dry inside. They both immediately knew this was a trap. But they had no choice. They needed air badly, and they could operate the sub if they needed to to get to the surface.

Carefully, Jacob opened the hatch and quickly helped Bella in first, who was on the verge of blacking out. They fell ungracefully to the hard floor gasping and coughing gratefully. When they tried to stand, they found that they couldn't and Bella suddenly couldn't breathe. It was like a heavy weight had deposited itself on her chest. It was twofold, she could feel Jacob's discomfort as well. Soon they heard footsteps.

"It's a terrible shame that you two aren't Atlanteans. You wouldn't've had this nasty problem with reversed pressure." Bella could see the shoe of Prince Nuadi's golden scaled boot. For a single odd moment she wondered if it was forged that way or if he had killed some poor fish. She wondered where in the world would you find a big enough fish or school of fish that were gold. Tian materialized on top of her and Jacob, seeming quite proud of being responsible for their lack of air and near complete immobility. Bella opened her mouth to say something but no words would come out.

"Now, now Miss Snow. There is no amount of speech that will sway me in your cause, so talking is not very beneficial for you at this moment. Someone influential has, however, spoken on your behalf. I was requested to take their recommendation into my consideration." Nuadi looked at Jacob and said. "As long as you promise to never return to Atlantis unsupervised by a native to our region, you are free Wolf Boy." Jacob opened his mouth and tried to say something. He opted instead to simply nod his head. Nuadi gestured to Tian to let only Jacob up. Jacob sprang up and gasped.

Jacob nodded towards Bella and said, "What about her?"

Nuadi smiled. He again gestured to Tian to let Bella up. Bella stood, struggling to stand with a little more composure than Jacob.

"You,"Nuadi addressed Bella with almost a sneer, "you must retrieve and bring back our sacred Zodiac orbs by the end of this year or we will muster a force to the surface world to declare war."

Bella was taken aback. "_War_?"

"Yes. War. And we don't take prisoners Miss Snow. Tell your father that when you return."


End file.
